Archives for July 11, 2018

The UK head of eToro has revealed how many crypto assets the social trading platform is looking to add and criticized reporting on blockchain technology by mainstream media. In an interview with NewsBTC, he said that the recent bear market has been a ‘blessing in disguise’ for crypto companies.

eToro Considers Six New Coins

UK Managing Director Iqbal Gandham said that eToro are looking at six new crypto tokens to add to their platform of which he expects four or five to be added. Currently doing due diligence on the new assets, he said that it depends on the nature of the coins and the nature of the teams over whether or not all the tokens will be added.

Gandham also departed from the usual rhetoric on the 2018 bear market by claiming that it has enabled crypto companies and exchanges to cope with the recent demand and update their systems.

Gandham told NewsBTC: “Most exchanges will concur that the industry has needed the low prices, which are a breathing space that the industry needed. We struggled to keep up last year. This year has been a blessing in disguise.”

Mainstream Media is a ‘Tired Commentary’

The MD took aim at mainstream media which has taken a sceptical view on cryptocurrencies, calling them a ‘speculative bubble‘ which will be ‘wiped out.’ He criticized the main three targets of volatility, money laundering and it being determined a Ponzi scheme.

Gandham said: “We need to change the sentiment surrounding crypto assets. It’s an amazing innovation. We keep hearing the incorrect arguments. Email took 35 years to develop. We’re only eight or nine years into the game. Give it four or five years before mainstream innovation. eBay had scalability issues, Amazon had scalability issues. I hope these reports move away from that tired commentary on crypto.”

“I’m tired of reading about Ponzi schemes. It’s not a Ponzi scheme. Bitcoin has never guaranteed anybody any set returns. The volatility of these assets has gone down year on year. Even money laundering, even though the national risk assessment in 2017 said the risk of money laundering is currently very low. We keep reading it in the mainstream press, it’s a very tired conversation.”

Gandham contributed to definitions within a recent report called ‘Unlocking Blockchain’ by UK Tory MP Eddie Hughes. He argued that more of these reports are needed in order to move the conversation away from talks about money laundering.

He did not back the call in the report for a ‘Chief Blockchain Officer’ as he believed it is not necessary. On the other hand, he said that anything that raises awareness of crypto assets is a good thing. He also said that a proposed blockchain competition might be helpful because it too, could raise awareness.

The UK head of eToro has revealed how many crypto assets the social trading platform is looking to add and criticized reporting on blockchain technology by mainstream media. In an interview with NewsBTC, he said that the recent bear market has been a ‘blessing in disguise’ for crypto companies.

eToro Considers Six New Coins

UK Managing Director Iqbal Gandham said that eToro are looking at six new crypto tokens to add to their platform of which he expects four or five to be added. Currently doing due diligence on the new assets, he said that it depends on the nature of the coins and the nature of the teams over whether or not all the tokens will be added.

Gandham also departed from the usual rhetoric on the 2018 bear market by claiming that it has enabled crypto companies and exchanges to cope with the recent demand and update their systems.

Gandham told NewsBTC: “Most exchanges will concur that the industry has needed the low prices, which are a breathing space that the industry needed. We struggled to keep up last year. This year has been a blessing in disguise.”

Mainstream Media is a ‘Tired Commentary’

The MD took aim at mainstream media which has taken a sceptical view on cryptocurrencies, calling them a ‘speculative bubble‘ which will be ‘wiped out.’ He criticized the main three targets of volatility, money laundering and it being determined a Ponzi scheme.

Gandham said: “We need to change the sentiment surrounding crypto assets. It’s an amazing innovation. We keep hearing the incorrect arguments. Email took 35 years to develop. We’re only eight or nine years into the game. Give it four or five years before mainstream innovation. eBay had scalability issues, Amazon had scalability issues. I hope these reports move away from that tired commentary on crypto.”

“I’m tired of reading about Ponzi schemes. It’s not a Ponzi scheme. Bitcoin has never guaranteed anybody any set returns. The volatility of these assets has gone down year on year. Even money laundering, even though the national risk assessment in 2017 said the risk of money laundering is currently very low. We keep reading it in the mainstream press, it’s a very tired conversation.”

Gandham contributed to definitions within a recent report called ‘Unlocking Blockchain’ by UK Tory MP Eddie Hughes. He argued that more of these reports are needed in order to move the conversation away from talks about money laundering.

He did not back the call in the report for a ‘Chief Blockchain Officer’ as he believed it is not necessary. On the other hand, he said that anything that raises awareness of crypto assets is a good thing. He also said that a proposed blockchain competition might be helpful because it too, could raise awareness.

Key Highlights

ETH price recovered a few points, but faced sellers near $445 against the US Dollar.

Yesterday’s highlighted important bearish trend line is intact with resistance at $447 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken).

The pair may continue to struggle as long as it is below the $445 and $448 resistance levels.

Ethereum price is under pressure against the US Dollar and Bitcoin. ETH/USD must move higher above $448, if not, there is a risk of more losses.

Ethereum Price Upside Hurdle

After a major drop, ETH price found support near the $425 level against the US Dollar. The ETH/USD pair formed a base and started a minor upside correction above $430. There was a spike above the $440 resistance, but buyers failed to gain momentum. Additionally, there was no proper close above the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the last decline from the $496 high to $425 low.

The price attempted to break the $445 level on two occasions, but it failed. Above this, yesterday’s highlighted important bearish trend line is intact with resistance at $447 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD. Finally, above the trend line, the next hurdle for buyers is near $452 and the 100 hourly simple moving average. It is also close to the 50% Fib retracement level of the last decline from the $496 high to $425 low. Therefore, the price is likely to struggle near the $445, $448 and $452 resistance levels.

Looking at the chart, the price is currently moving lower from the $445 resistance. On the downside, an initial support is at $432. A break below this could push the price towards the $425 low. Overall, the price is at a risk of more declines as long as it is below the $448 resistance.

Key Highlights

ETH price recovered a few points, but faced sellers near $445 against the US Dollar.

Yesterday’s highlighted important bearish trend line is intact with resistance at $447 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken).

The pair may continue to struggle as long as it is below the $445 and $448 resistance levels.

Ethereum price is under pressure against the US Dollar and Bitcoin. ETH/USD must move higher above $448, if not, there is a risk of more losses.

Ethereum Price Upside Hurdle

After a major drop, ETH price found support near the $425 level against the US Dollar. The ETH/USD pair formed a base and started a minor upside correction above $430. There was a spike above the $440 resistance, but buyers failed to gain momentum. Additionally, there was no proper close above the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the last decline from the $496 high to $425 low.

The price attempted to break the $445 level on two occasions, but it failed. Above this, yesterday’s highlighted important bearish trend line is intact with resistance at $447 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD. Finally, above the trend line, the next hurdle for buyers is near $452 and the 100 hourly simple moving average. It is also close to the 50% Fib retracement level of the last decline from the $496 high to $425 low. Therefore, the price is likely to struggle near the $445, $448 and $452 resistance levels.

Looking at the chart, the price is currently moving lower from the $445 resistance. On the downside, an initial support is at $432. A break below this could push the price towards the $425 low. Overall, the price is at a risk of more declines as long as it is below the $448 resistance.

Key Points

Bitcoin cash price remained in a range and consolidated above the $680 support against the US Dollar.

Yesterday’s highlighted key bearish trend line is intact with current resistance near $720 on the hourly chart of the BCH/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).

The pair remains at a risk of more losses as long as it is below the $710 and $720 resistance levels.

Bitcoin cash price is struggling to move above $710 against the US Dollar. BCH/USD is currently consolidating and it remains at a risk of further declines.

Bitcoin Cash Price Trend

After a major decline below the $700 level, bitcoin cash price found support near $680 against the US Dollar. The BCH/USD pair formed a low near $683 and later it started a minor upside correction. It moved above the $690 level, but it failed to move past the $700-710 resistance. Moreover, the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the last decline from the $780 high to $683 low also acted as a resistance.

It seems like the $700-710 zone is a major resistance and a pivot area. A break above the same is needed for a push towards the next resistance at $720-725. More importantly, yesterday’s highlighted key bearish trend line is intact with current resistance near $720 on the hourly chart of the BCH/USD pair. The trend line now coincides with the 38.2% Fib retracement level of the last decline from the $780 high to $683 low. The next hurdle for buyers is near the $730 level and the 100 hourly simple moving average.

Looking at the chart, there are clearly many hurdles for buyers above $710. Therefore, a major upside recovery towards $750 won’t be easy. On the downside, a break below the $680 support could push the price towards $650.

Looking at the technical indicators:

Hourly MACD – The MACD for BCH/USD is mostly flat in the bearish zone.

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for BCH/USD is now back below the 50 level.

Key Points

Bitcoin cash price remained in a range and consolidated above the $680 support against the US Dollar.

Yesterday’s highlighted key bearish trend line is intact with current resistance near $720 on the hourly chart of the BCH/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).

The pair remains at a risk of more losses as long as it is below the $710 and $720 resistance levels.

Bitcoin cash price is struggling to move above $710 against the US Dollar. BCH/USD is currently consolidating and it remains at a risk of further declines.

Bitcoin Cash Price Trend

After a major decline below the $700 level, bitcoin cash price found support near $680 against the US Dollar. The BCH/USD pair formed a low near $683 and later it started a minor upside correction. It moved above the $690 level, but it failed to move past the $700-710 resistance. Moreover, the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the last decline from the $780 high to $683 low also acted as a resistance.

It seems like the $700-710 zone is a major resistance and a pivot area. A break above the same is needed for a push towards the next resistance at $720-725. More importantly, yesterday’s highlighted key bearish trend line is intact with current resistance near $720 on the hourly chart of the BCH/USD pair. The trend line now coincides with the 38.2% Fib retracement level of the last decline from the $780 high to $683 low. The next hurdle for buyers is near the $730 level and the 100 hourly simple moving average.

Looking at the chart, there are clearly many hurdles for buyers above $710. Therefore, a major upside recovery towards $750 won’t be easy. On the downside, a break below the $680 support could push the price towards $650.

Looking at the technical indicators:

Hourly MACD – The MACD for BCH/USD is mostly flat in the bearish zone.

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for BCH/USD is now back below the 50 level.

As it eyes a business expansion to Southeast Asia, where the digital currency ecosystem thrives like no other region, the VC player is likely to fund a number of promising cryptocurrency products there.

The early backer of Snapchat’s creator Snap is having approximately $1.05 billion of the $1.8 billion new funding earmarked for a separate fund to invest in more mature companies, instead of its traditional approach of funding early-stage firms.

The company’s upcoming expansion to Southeast Asia will include investments in cryptocurrency, among other areas such as biotechnology and new TV streaming services, according to partners at Lightspeed, who added they will have to invest repeatedly in companies they already backed as startups stay private for longer.

“That trend has only been increasing over time, and as a result, our funds have been getting bigger over time as well,” said partner Jeremy Liew.

Lightspeed hired a new partner, ex-Insight Venture Partners Brad Twohig, to help lead the firm’s growth investments. Lightspeed has returned $2.7 billion to investors since the start of 2017, which has become an uncommon scenario among the VC industry as venture-backed tech companies increasingly delay their initial public offerings (IPOs).

In the last five years, Lightspeed-backed companies have held 17 IPOs, about half of which have occurred since the start of 2017, including messaging app Snapchat.

“If you point to one moment in time for the firm it was probably the Snap IPO. But really, it’s a decade of hard work and it all came to fruition at the same time.”

Lightspeed Venture Partners are no strangers to blockchain and the cryptocurrency market. Jeremy Liew said last year that demand for Bitcoin et al. will continue to grow as the world continues to move towards instability, in terms of geopolitics and military interventions. Citizens will eventually look for alternatives to official currencies, especially in countries in the Middle East, South America, and Eastern Europe, where political instability and inflation are common.

Lightspeed has recently invested in the ICO of Telegram, which raised more than $1.7 billion in its presale. Due to its massively successful presale, Telegram revealed that it will no longer initiate a public ICO. Lightspeed Ventures made its first token investment ever when it backed Basis in April 2018. Developed by Intangible Labs and backed by other big names such as Andreessen Horowitz, Bain Capital Ventures, and Google Ventures, Basis is a stable coin that will be built on the Ethereum blockchain.

As it eyes a business expansion to Southeast Asia, where the digital currency ecosystem thrives like no other region, the VC player is likely to fund a number of promising cryptocurrency products there.

The early backer of Snapchat’s creator Snap is having approximately $1.05 billion of the $1.8 billion new funding earmarked for a separate fund to invest in more mature companies, instead of its traditional approach of funding early-stage firms.

The company’s upcoming expansion to Southeast Asia will include investments in cryptocurrency, among other areas such as biotechnology and new TV streaming services, according to partners at Lightspeed, who added they will have to invest repeatedly in companies they already backed as startups stay private for longer.

“That trend has only been increasing over time, and as a result, our funds have been getting bigger over time as well,” said partner Jeremy Liew.

Lightspeed hired a new partner, ex-Insight Venture Partners Brad Twohig, to help lead the firm’s growth investments. Lightspeed has returned $2.7 billion to investors since the start of 2017, which has become an uncommon scenario among the VC industry as venture-backed tech companies increasingly delay their initial public offerings (IPOs).

In the last five years, Lightspeed-backed companies have held 17 IPOs, about half of which have occurred since the start of 2017, including messaging app Snapchat.

“If you point to one moment in time for the firm it was probably the Snap IPO. But really, it’s a decade of hard work and it all came to fruition at the same time.”

Lightspeed Venture Partners are no strangers to blockchain and the cryptocurrency market. Jeremy Liew said last year that demand for Bitcoin et al. will continue to grow as the world continues to move towards instability, in terms of geopolitics and military interventions. Citizens will eventually look for alternatives to official currencies, especially in countries in the Middle East, South America, and Eastern Europe, where political instability and inflation are common.

Lightspeed has recently invested in the ICO of Telegram, which raised more than $1.7 billion in its presale. Due to its massively successful presale, Telegram revealed that it will no longer initiate a public ICO. Lightspeed Ventures made its first token investment ever when it backed Basis in April 2018. Developed by Intangible Labs and backed by other big names such as Andreessen Horowitz, Bain Capital Ventures, and Google Ventures, Basis is a stable coin that will be built on the Ethereum blockchain.